Monday, July 21, 2014

Losing the labels of society and finding the self that God created you to be

Have
you been caught up in the "world", "rat race" or
"society" for so long that you have lost your sense of who you
are? Have you been too busy trying to keep up with what others think that
you have lost the ability to think for yourself? It is easy to get caught
up and lose your true "self". The key is being able to find
yourself again without falling back into the pattern or confusing your true
self with the image that society has made you believe you are.

Outside forces
We are all affected by outside forces from the moment we are born. It
comes from our parents, our peer group and our teachers. They place on us
labels that are used to separate us from others such as smart or pretty.
These are handy to separate groups into categories, but are bad if we embrace
the label and let it define us. When we identify with the label and let
the label define us rather than us defining the label we fall victim to
society. For example, your first grade teacher labels you as "smart",
you are smart for a first grader, but if you were placed in sixth grade you
would not be considered smart. But if you are holding on to your first
grade label of "smart" for the rest of your life you are stagnating
your growth not matter how smart you are.

By not identifying with any label placed upon you from outside, both good and
bad, you cannot be affected by the label. You are neither smart nor dumb,
which are relative terms, you are you. Once you accept you are not your
label outside factors will have no effect on you. All you need to do to
find yourself is to get below the labels.

Getting beyond the labels
As we have been labeled since birth, it is hard to get through the labels to
find your true self, because labels are constantly flying on to you. If
you take off work do get away from the pressure to find yourself, you are
labeled as a "runner", "hippy" or a "seeker" all
of which are labels. If you keep working to find yourself they will say you
are a "day dreamer" or a "slacker". These are just
the labels you get merely trying to find yourself. The key to
finding yourself is to stop identifying with the labels. You are not your
label. When you don't identify with any label you are able to get to your
true self.

But are you your label? No, it is not possible. For example, they
say you are clumsy. You are not clumsy, your actions at times may be
clumsy but your actions are not you. You may trip once in a while but a
majority of the time you are walking just fine. So you can't be labeled
clumsy any more than you can be labeled one who walks. Though you do both
of these actions neither can define you as a person.

Finding Yourself
So you realize that outside forces are constantly putting labels on you and
that you need to not identify with the labels, but how do you find
yourself? The answer is to do nothing at all. When a wood carver
does his work, he does not carve the object out of the wood. He carefully
removes the wood from around the object until the object appears. So he
is not carving an object he is just removing the parts that don't fit to the
object. The same is true with you, once you remove the labels that are
encasing you, your true self will appear and shine not never before. You are no
longer "smart", "pretty" or "studious" or any
label that has been put on you. You may do actions that are intelligent
and you may have features that other find attractive but your actions and
features are not you they are merely outside things you do or characteristics
you posse. The real you is indescribable and unable to be labels is a
culminations of your experience and of all of your actions. To label the
self is to limit the self.

The "world" will continue to put labels on you that is all they know
how to do. They cannot fathom something without a label but you will be
able to walk through the label which only purpose is to limit you and place you
in a box. When you walk through the label and are not defined it your
true self will come shining through with infinite possibly.

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About Me

I'm John a Catholic trying to live out my faith in the world. I discerned my calling in the seminary for three life changing years. I have always felt that God called me in and God called me out. I have a theological background but I am living my faith out in the world. I have fond memories of my time in the seminary but know I am called to a husband and father. I hope this blog provides some help to you in your faith journey and that you can get some incites and tips to use in your life.